I

The Riddle of AL Unveiled

The "wandering prince" was closely examined as to his credentials; unless he were an escaped criminal he was not eligible to compete; nor was it sufficiant for him to win the king's daughter in open competition, live in the lap of luxury until the old king died, and succeed him in peace; he was obliged to murder the old king with his own hand.
—Aleister Crowley

Liber AL & Qabalah on the Regular Pattern

¶ In Liber AL vel Legis II,76, (The Book of the Law), there is a cipher commonly referred to as the Riddle AL. In his commentaries on this passage published in Magical and Philosophical Commentaries on the Book of the Law, Aleister Crowley writes,

This passage . . . appears to be a Qabalistic test (on the regular pattern) of any person who may claim to be the Magickal Heir of the Beast. Be ye well assured all that the solution, when it is found, will be unquestionable. It will be marked by the most sublime simplicity, and carry immediate conviction.

The solution carries immediate conviction in more than one way. To ascertain the solution of this passage, the student should use the Hebrew Qabalah, which is Kabbalah on the regular pattern.

Aiwass instructs the Beast & the reader to listen to the numbers and the words. This indicates that the cipher is foremost heard more than seen. The emphasises the phonetic quality of the verse. If the reader is familiar with Hebrew, then he is able to hear most of these words.

In his explanation on the use of his work 777, Crowley provides the following as an example, writing,

We take this Book, and look at 17. We find that 17 is the number of Squares in the Swastika, which is the Whirling Disc or Thunderbolt. Also there is [ChVG], as Circle or Orbit; [ZVD], to seethe or boil, and some other Words, which we neglect in this Example, though we should not dare to do so if we were really trying to find out a Thing we none of us knew. To help our Deduction about Redemption, too we find [HDH], to brighten or make glad. (777, p.15,16)

Crowley often times makes use of this sort of Theological hinting and jesting in his writings. Albeit, the number 17 is a key to the cipher—there are 17 words in it. Also 17 is the numeric (gematria) value of the Hebrew word TVB (good, blessed, glad), which is a significant word in Liber AL II, 76.

The Hebrew transliteration below follows that of 777 and The Kabbalah Unveiled. All of the words (except for the phonetic symbols x and Ɠ) within the cipher of Liber AL II, 76 may be found in the book Sepher Sephiroth within the volume of 777. When the the student reads a number in Liber AL II,76, let him find the first word under the same number in Sepher Sephiroth. When the student reads letters, let him separate the letters into their respective Hebrew words.

AL: The Glad Word Reversed

¶ For example, RPSTOVAL, is a sentence composed of three Hebrew words RPS, TVB, & AL. In English, the sentance is translated as "The glad word (reversed) is AL." The student may ask how the translation glad word is obtained from RPSTOV. TOV (correctly transliterated TVB), means good, blessed, glad. RPS is written backwards and is the word sepher (i.e., book, writing, a written word), or sapher (i.e., number, word) depending on the context and how the translator decides to point it. Concerning the various meanings that the root SPR may take in Hebrew, Alfred Edersheim writes the following in his translation of Sepher Yetzirah,

In thirty-two wonderful paths of wisdom, Jah, Jehovah Tsebhaoth, the God of Israel, the Living God, and King of the World, God merciful and gracious, High and Exalted, Who dwelleth to Eternity, high and holy is His Name, hath ordered [established, created?] (the world) by three Sepharim [books]: by Sepher [the written Word], Sephar [number, numeral] and Sippur [spoken word]. Others, pointing the words differently, render these mysterious terms: Number, Word, Writing; others, Number, Numberer, Numbered; while still others see in it a reference to the threefold division of the Hebrew alphabet . . . . (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol II, p. 692)

Thelemic scholar, Bill Heidrick, transliterates these words in Yetzirah as Sfor, Sippur and Sapher. He defines them as "Numbers, Letters and Words" in his edition of Sepher Yetzirah. RPS, being sepher and translated as a (written) Word, is completed by its direct object AL, and, contextually, this sheds light upon the proceeding verse instructing the prophet to tell the "glad word" (LA) unto men.

Because RPS is written aversely, this indicates that the meaning should be understood by the rules of Qabalistic exegesis as explained in 777: "...there is a method called ThShRQ, Thashraq, which is simply writing a word backwards." (777, p. 4) RPS should be translated as word in this context as opposed to book. It is for this reason that the "prophet" (Crowley) is instructed to tell this "glad word" to men, which in Liber AL is the Hebrew word LA (Not)—the Thashraq of AL (God).

Concerning the word LA, Crowley writes,

LA the reply to AL, who is the God of Chesed, 4. The passionate denial of God, useful when other methods fail. (777, p.44)

The student may also contemplate the connections between the Hebrew words sepher/sapher and the English word cypher.

The Key of It ALL

¶ The following Key to Liber AL II, 76 may be obtained by a study of Crowley's Sepher Sephiroth within 777. Liber AL II,75-76 reads,

GBA—"To gather, collect". In this context it carries the sense of coagulation, binding.

3

AB—"Father".

8

ABH—"To will, intend".

ABK

ABCh—"To conceal"; numeric value 11.

2

A:A:—"Abbriviation for 422, ARIK ANPIN", The Vast Countenance as explained in the Kabblah Unveiled.

4

ABA—"Father".

ALƓMOR

AL—"GOD of Chesed, and of Kether of Briah"; numeric value 31. ƓMR—The phonetic symbol (i.e., Latin capitol G with hook) presented in the handwritten text indicates that this is not simply the letter G, but rather has reference to the voiced uvular implosive phonetic sound. This phonetic sound is found within Semitic languages, and here has reference to the Hebrew letter Gimmel. Therefore, the style of the letter takes on double meaning for both phonetic and linguistic signs. The Hebrew word GMR means, "Learned, complete. To finish, bring to pass"; numeric value 243.

3

AB—"Father"

Y

YVD, 10—"the hand", symbolic for the Power of God in Kether; numeric value 20. Y is one of two single letters given in the cipher (including x). Therefore, Y & x take on double meanings. Y may be seen as a variable of an equation. Y may also be seen as the English transliteration of YVD. In Hebrew numeration, the letter YVD represents the number 10. Crowley writes the following concerning the number 10,

[F]or the Qabalist "Malkuth is in Kether, and Kether is in Malkuth," or "That which is below is like that which is above" or simply "Yod." (The foundation of all letters having the number 10, symbolising Malkuth.) (777, p.41)

x

This character is not a capitol letter in Crowley's original handwriting. Therefore, it is left lowercase here. Interpreting these words phonetically first and foremost, based on the instruction of the Book, the x here seems to indicate that the phonetic sound Crowley heard was the voiceless velar fricative. This is the sound made when speaking the Hebrew letter Kaph, and is represented with an x in the International Phonetic Alphabet. Crowley previously used the English letter K to represent the letter Hebrew letter Kheth in the word ABK. Therefore, if Crowley was listening to the words and numbers, it seems plausible that Crowley's x, here, stands for a Hebrew word phonetically similar to the Latin character. The most plausible word here is the Hebrew letter Kaph. It matters not whether one counts the term x as the roman-numeral ten, or whether one counts x as the "x factor", as in x = y + 1, or even whether one counts x to stand for the Hebrew letter Kaph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew word Kether (Crown, the first Sephira). Seen as a variable, x is seen in relation with term y as Kether is in relation with Malkuth in Qabala. Crowley writes,

There are three qabalistical veils of the negative existence, and in themselves they formulate the hidden ideas of the Sephiroth not yet called into being, and they are concentrated in Kether, which in this sense is the Malkuth of the kidden ideas of the Sephiroth. I will explain this. The first veil of the negative existence is the AIN, Ain, Negativitity. This word consists of three letters, which thus shadow forth the first three Sephrioth or numbers. The second veil is the AIN SVP, the limitless. This title consists of six letters, and shadows forth the idea of the first six Sephiroth or numbers. The third veil is the AIN SVP AVR, Ain Soph Aur, the Limitless Light. This again consists of nine letters, and symbolises the first nine Sephiroth, but of course in their hidden idea only. But when we reach the number nine we cannot progress farther without returning to the unity, or the number one, for the number ten is but a repetition of unity freshly derivd from the negative, as is evident from a glance at its ordianry representation in Arabic numberals, where the circle O represents the Negative and the I the Unity. Thus, then, the limitless ocean of negative light does not proceed from a centre, for it is centreless, but it concentrates a centre, which is the number one of the Sephiroth, Kether, the Crown, the First Sephira; which therefore may be said to be the Malkuth or the number ten of the hidden Sephiroth. Thus, "Kether is in Malkuth and Malkuth is in Kether." Or as an alchemical author of great repute (Thomas Vaughan, better known as Eugenius Philalethes, says, appparently quoting from Proclus "That the heaven is in the earth, but after an earthly manner; and that the earth is in the heaven, but after a heavenly manner." But inasmuch as negative existence is the subject incapable of definition, as I have before shown, it is rather considered by the Qabalists as depending back from the number of unity than as a separate consideration therefrom; therefore they frequently apply the same terms and epithets indiscriminately to either. Such epithets are "The concealed of the Concealed," "The Ancient of the Ancient Ones," the "Most Holy Ancient One," etc." (777, p.6)

The Hebrew word YVD (hand) and the Hebrew letter K (Kaph) both have the numeric value of 20. Crowley writes concerning the number 20, "IVD, Yod, the letter of the Father". (An Essay upon Number, p.29)

24

AHVBY—"He whom I love".

89

GVP—"To shut up".

RPSTOVAL

RPS=SPR—"Book". In context of Liber AL, RPS is understood as a written Word; numeric value 340. TVB—"Good", blessed, glad; numeric value 17. AL—"God of Chesed, and of Kether of Briah"; numeric value 31.

Hebrew Transliteration of Liber AL II, 76

ABA GBA
AB ABH ABCh
A:A: ABA AL GMR
AB Y K AHVBY GVP
RPS TVB AL

Some points concerning the Hebrew transliteration of the cipher may be contemplated by the student: 1) Alef appears 13 times, 2) the cipher contains 17 words, 3) the cipher contains 44 characters.

English Translation of Liber AL II, 76

The Father to bind
The Father to will to conceal
A:A:, the Father, God to finish
The Father, the Power, the Kingdom, the Beloved to silence
The glad word reversed is AL

The Father to Will to Conceal

¶ The cipher itself is a direct attack upon the Qabalistic Tree of Life. It attempts to raise a binding spell against God the Father, and his "beloved" Son. Concerning the Qabalah, Crowley avers this of the task of the Master of the Temple,

He finds no satisfaction in contemplating the Tree of Life, and the orderly arrangement of the numbers; rather does he enjoy the Qabalah as a means of juggling with these numbers. He can leave nothing undisturbed; he is the Anarchist of Philosophy. He refuses to acquiesce in merely formal proofs of the Excellence of things, "He doeth all things well, "Were the world understood Ye would see it was good," "Whatever is, is right," and so on. To him, on the contrary, whatever is, is wrong. (The Temple of Solomon the King, p.39)

Therefore, the cipher in Liber AL II, 76 confirms this statement by Crowley. The cipher reveals that the core Will of the Book of the Law is to oppose the Tree of Life diametrically; to bind, conceal, finish, and silence God the Father.

It is the prophet, the 'forth-speaker' who is never to know this mystery. But that does not prevent it from lying within the comprehension of the Beast, kept secret by him in order to prove any one who should claim sonship. (Cf. the note in brackets to the new comment on verse 75.

The last part of this verse presents no difficulty.
An XVI, Sun in Sagittarius. In the Appendix . . . will be found the Qabalistic proofs referred to in the penultimate paragraph, as supporting the claim of Sir Charles Stansfeld Jones, whose occult names, numbers, dignities and titles, are as follows: PARZIVAL, Knight of the Holy Ghost, etc., X degree O.T.O., 418, 777, V.I.O. (Unus In Omnibus), Achad, or O.I.V.V.I.O. (Omnia in Uno, Unus in Omnibus), Fra A.'. A.'., 8degree = 3square, Arctaeon, to be my son by Jeanne Foster, Soror Hilarion. See Appendix for the technical explanation of this verse. I may here briefly mention, however, that "Thou knowest not" is one of the cryptographic ambiguities characteristic of this Book. "Thou knowest" -- see Cap. I verse 26, and 'not' is Nuith. The word 'ever' too, may be the objective of 'know', rather than merely an adverb.
Note "to be me", not "to be I" -- an evident reference to Nuit, "not", MH. Cf. verse 13, comment. One can only exist by being Nuit, as explained in discussing the general magical theory.

Therefore, it becomes clear that Crowley knew the meaning of the cipher. He knew that the "glad word" was AL (God) reversed—LA (Not). This is what Liber AL means by the statement "thou knowest not". This difference here is that Crowley never revealed the cipher, though he did speak forth the "glad word" (LA). The prophecy in this passage states that one should come to expound it.

The cipher is also evocative of the Lord's Prayer:

After this manner therefore pray yee: Our father which art in heauen, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will (GK, το θελημα) be done, in earth, as it is in heauen. Giue vs this day our daily bread. And foriue vs our debts, as we forgiue our debters. And lead vs not into temptation, but deliuer vs from euill: For thine is the kingdome, and the power, and the glory, for euer, Amen.(Matt. VI,9-14)

In contrast with the Lord's Prayer, the cipher of Liber AL seeks to bind the will of God the Father that it not be done.

Again, the idea of binding & and concealing the Father appears to be opposed to the prayer of Iesus Christ in the Gospel of John. Here, Christ speaks forth to manifest the Father as "the only true God":

These words spake Iesus, and lift vp his eyes to heauen, and said, Father the houre is come, glorifie thy Sonne, that thy Sonne also may glorifie thee. As thou hast giuen him power ouer all flesh, that he should giue eternall life to all many as thou has giuen him. And this is life eternall, that they might know thee the onely true God, and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I haue glorified thee on the earth: I haue finished the worke which thou gauest me to doe.

And now O Father, glorifie thou me, whith thine owne selfe, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I haue manifested thy Name vnto the men which thou gauest me out of the world: thine they were; and thou gauest them me; and they haue kept thy word. Now they haue knowen that all things whatsoeuer thou hast giuen me, are of thee. For I haue giuen vnto them the words which thou gauest me, and they haue receiued them, and haue knowen surely that I came out from thee, and they haue beleeued that thou didst send me. I pray for them, I pray not for the world: but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine: and I am glorified in them.

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine owne Name, those whom thou hast giuen mee, that they may bee one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy Name: those that thou gauest me, I haue kept, and none of them is lost, but the sonne of perdition: that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

And now I come to thee, and these things I speake in the world, that they might have my ioy fulfilled in themselves. I haue giuen them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, euen as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keepe them from the euill. They are not of the world, euen as I am not of the world. Sanctifie them through thy trueth: thy word is trueth.

As thou hast sent mee into the world: euen so haue I sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctifie myselfe, that they also might be sanctified through the trueth. Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also which shall beleeue on me through their word: That they all may be one, as thou Father art in mee, and I in thee, that they also may bee one in vs: that the world may beleeue that thou hast sent mee.

And the glory which thou gauest me, I haue giuen them: that they may be one, euen as we are one: I in them, and thou in mee, that they may bee made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loued them, as thou hast loued me.

Father, I will that they also whom thou hast giuen me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast giuen mee: for thou louedst mee before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not knowen thee, but I haue knowen thee, and these haue knowen that thou hast sent me. And I haue declared vnto them thy Name, and will declare it: that the loue wherewith thou hast loued mee, may bee in them, and I in them. (John XVII)